(The following article is an English assignment that Sara, who is a twelve
year old seventh grader, turned in at the Franklin-Simpson Middle School. She is
also the daughter of Ron & Rhonda Spurgeon.)

I have a feeling of deep desperation. I feel an emptiness inside, and I'm
searching for the right path. Tears are pouring down my tender cheeks. I must
continuously pray for any fragment of hope or an end to this confusion and
unhappiness.

My daddy was a pastor and helping in a revival, and at the time, I was
feeling all alone in the world. It seemed that everywhere I looked, there were
frowns, and they were explaining to me - you are all alone. Although I was in a
church filled with people, my soul was isolated. At the time, I was not at the
same take of mind as the church members that surrounded me.

"Mama, I .... I think I'm lost," I admitted,

"I thought so; I'll go to the altar with you, if you want," my mom explained.

I couldn't figure out how she knew. I suppose that God was telling her. With
the question still in my mind, my heart still pounding, I slowly marched with my
mom, to the altar.

Tears would not stop drenching my face, and my small arms muffled the sounds
that came from my buried face. I experienced a constant cough that was giving me
a shortness of breath. I could not speak through my commotion. I silently prayed
in my head, from my heart, that it would all come to an end. I was hoping and
praying for a repentance of my sins that I knew only God could provide.

In the blink of an eye, peacefulness washed over me. My innocent soul was
hushed. I tried to cough, but only a false sound came out.

"Sara Beth, are you okay?" my mother's soothing voice questioned.

"I ... I ... I think so, " came my stuttering reply.

I couldn't give a sure and powerful answer. The devil told me his lies that
tried to repel me from the wonderful truth. This allowed confusion to spread
over me. The hideous devil was able to baffle me until morning.

I awoke up with a new, astonishing feeling. Now I knew that I was saved - and
I want to tell the whole world. I am capable of spreading the wonderful news to
my family, and I do.

On the twenty-sixth of April, ten days later, I felt a knocking at the door
of my heart. My father stood at the front of the church, in his suit and tie,
requesting to open the doors of the church. As the hymn was played, I felt that
I must tell the church what the Lord did for me, and I must join His church that
my daddy pastored.

I unclenched the seat, stepped forward, and walked down the aisle to the
pastor, my daddy.

The following Sunday, the church members ( and my family members) proceeded
to the creek, at the water's edge.

Taking my daddy's strong and guiding hand, we sauntered down into the water.
The April water was freezing against my slender legs. Cold chills ran up and
down my small body, communicating with me that the water was a freezing
temperature.

As warm tears slowly ran down my daddy's rosy cheeks, he lifted his hand to
the heavens and proclaimed, "I baptize thee, my sister, in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

As he swiftly lowered me down into the water, the water embraced all lengths
of my body. As the clear water rushed over me, it was refreshing and cleansing.

Daddy lifted me up to the surface out of the water. My grandmother covered me
with numerous blankets trying to shield me from the cold, and I shook hands with
my new brothers and sisters - in Christ.

As daddy carried me toward our awaiting car, I was overjoyed with pride and
happiness. I found the Lord because I asked, and I received.

At the time, I was only a small child of eight with confusion in my heart.
Now, at the age of twelve, I can proclaim to the world that I found the Lord
after being lost in a deceiving world. I can explain to other innocent souls
that with the correct direction, they too can find the Lord awaiting in a
heavenly home above.